Norwegian company Tau Tech is set to begin fishing in the Barents Sea, using innovative technology to harvest scallops for the first time in Norwegian waters for thirty years, when conventional dredges were banned.
Tau Tech’s Arctic Pearl, a former offshore support vessel that has been through an extensive refit, to outfit it for this new fishery, will be sailing with Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress broadband, which promises to deliver a consistent, stable, uninterrupted quality of service and seamless high-speed network coverage in the Arctic.
‘Inmarsat’s planned new Arctic satellites are particularly interesting to us, as they will greatly improve connectivity and communications in some of the most hard-to-reach areas on earth,’ said Arctic Pearl’s skipper Svein Ole Sæther.
The Arctic Circle represents a rapidly growing connectivity region for high-quality broadband with increasing requirements from maritime customers. GX10A and 10B will be the world’s first mobile broadband payloads dedicated to the Arctic region, making Inmarsat the only provider offering dedicated high-throughput mobile broadband connectivity for maritime customers in the Arctic region. The multi-beam, high-throughput HEO (highly elliptical orbit) payloads will ensure continuous coverage and offer the ability to direct capacity in real-time to the areas of highest demand.
The expansion of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network is being delivered in partnership with Space Norway and its subsidiary Space Norway HEOSAT as part of the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission
‘Digitalisation in the fishing sector is fast catching up, and Inmarsat has been working closely with fishing vessel operators to deliver integrated and scalable satellite communication solutions to match their operational needs and enable crew welfare,’ said Inmarsat Maritime’s regional director sales Scott Middleton.
‘Tau Tech’s new solution opens the door to re-establish commercial scallop seabed harvesting on a fully sustainable basis. Inmarsat is proud to support the company’s project in the Barents Sea – delivering connectivity and providing the option to digitalise and enhance vessel operations in the long term.’
Services are delivered via a secure, dedicated network with no impact on bandwidth. Fleet Xpress allows users to upgrade bandwidth easily as shipping companies adopt applications at a pace that suits them, from email and basic office applications to IoT-powered solutions and emerging technologies targeting fuel savings, emissions reduction, and other operational enhancements.
‘Our unique precision seabed harvesting technology enables us to harvest seafood gently, yet efficiently without damaging their fragile surroundings,’ said Tau Tech’s technical manager Jan Rogne.
‘Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress installed on our vessel Arctic Pearl, will help us to carry out our operations in a sustainable way and allow us to adopt new services and applications to further enhance operational sustainability, safety and security as new challenges arise.’
